Big Bear Cafe with Booze? Not in my backyard, says ANC 5C

Last night’s hearing at ANC 5C ended the way that we feared it might: with Big Bear Cafe getting screwed by small groups of dedicated NIMBYs. The Bloomingdale hub coffee shop, and host of the Farmers’ Market on Sunday, was denied their opportunity to proceed to ABRA with the support of their ANC. The issues are frustrating, the participants stilted cartoonish caricatures, and the end result entirely typical for the process.

Sorry you got screwed by the NIMBYs, Big Bear. Next time, be sure to bribe the right ANC reps and it’ll just sail through. Or, so I’m told.

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

Big Bear Cafe screwed themselves. They tried to get an CR license with out the proper zoning, use or occupancy for the space they are in. So before you jump down on ANC5C…get your facts straight! Should an ANC approve a stupilated CR license when the owner has run a business illegally in DC for almost 5 years. All you bloogers who come out with your outlandlish comments need to take a good look at the facts. I am confident if we approved or gave support for this, all you bloogers would be the first to say we treated BBC different because Stu is a commissioner. Well not on my watch! Let BBC get their house in order and straighten out it’s mess with the city and zoning etc, before you come an ask for the golden ticket…a cr liqour license…so get real! I am not rewarding anyone, either new business or old business in this area if you have operated outside the law and claim you didn’t know, or oh I thought I had that done….It’s a bunch of bull that was stated by the supporters, especially fellow Commissioner Salatti who is an attorney and was assisting BBC in this matter. G…you think a lawyer would know better! Sorry he missed the meeting because I was prepared to go head to head with him over the bull he has put out in the air in Bloomingdale, it more like a good old wiff of horse shit!

Can someone not on the ANC explain this question of illegality? How could BBC open in the first place if the zoning didn’t allow it? And since when do we rely on ANCs to determine violations of law and enforce them?

The commish’s mind was made up before all the facts were in – regardless of the BBC’s misteps. The process was a sham, the commisioners were classic obstructionists – making wild accusations, hypothetical doomsday claims – maybe the BBC fell short on process, but the ANC fell short on impartiality.

Wait–a liquor license is a “golden ticket?” Now this *is* cool. Will it be delivered in a sweet, sweet chocolate bar? Will some grumpy ANC follow me into an alley and then try to bribe me because I got one, just like in Willy Wonka? I want a golden ticket!

Oh, and Mr. Danneker, I didn’t know your job was to “reward” people. Oh, my: do tell. Who or what was the last thing you “rewarded” in your official capacity as ANC “commish?” Or did you mean “award?”

And there’s “bulls” in the “air?” I live in a magical, magical ward! Lucky me!

Anybody else get the sense that Mr. Danneker’s missive reads as if it’s been poorly translated from a different language?

Barrie, you need to tone down your hostility towards a honest business owner. Your rants are starting to sound like something out of former ANC3 gadfly Fred Winstead’s mouth. A license to serve alcohol at an eating establishment should be granted under the assumption of goodwill, not confronted with a bunch of ginned-up accusations while someone from a far-flung district such as yourself spits in the face of Bloomingdale residents while claiming to serve as representatives to them. It’s time for you to get your act together and start making POSITIVE contributions to the community, because as far as I can tell, you’ve been on a crusade to bring it down. You didn’t come into Bloomingdale and ask what you can do to help. Instead you treat us to you unhinged rants and make active efforts to obstruct. What you should have done was do everything in your power to ensure that Stu wouldn’t have any problem getting a liquor license rather than using this entire episode as an excuse to bring attention to yourself.

so are @The Commish’s comments always that professional? Nothing says dedicated public servant like cursing and temper tantrums.

I think its about time those of use in the neighborhood got organized. It has worked for other communities and small business owners. The Argonaut asked its supporters to write in when they needed to get a new permit. Other businesses asked their regulars to show up at the ANC meetings. For to long the crazies have run the show.

It was tragic to watch Banneker and “Gigi” roll out their dislike for the cafe at the very start of the process – naming a host of worst case scenario’s without even an attempt to work with Stu and the BBC. I have spent a few minutes trying to find when Gigi and Banneker are up for reelection, but havent had any luck. I for one will take the time to contribute a few dollars and some time to getting these clowns defeated.

I’ve seen all these comments. Let me just state had BBC take my advice, and had they for one minute thought about the process and ensured that they indeed had the proper permits, CofA and zoning it woudl have been smooth sailing for this application. Stop blaming the ANC for taking the postion they did, it was the right thing to do. Let BBC apply agina then they have their stuff in order. Just because you like the place doesn’t mean it should be given an CR as a matter of right!

Everyone who is eligible to vote for ANC 5c, please note that the pretentious and petty “The Commish” is Barrie Daneker. Remember, when you vote, his conduct in these various online forums.

One hardly needs to support Big Bear to be concerned that this man is a minor public official. I’ve never met the man, and after witnessing his unprovoked, nasty attacks on another ANC official, and his many surly responses to various anonymous commenters, it is easy to conclude that Daneker is a problem unto himself.

Bloomingdale needs people who bridge differences, not exacerbate them. We need solutions, not problems.

Barrie, if you have any sense of dignity and shame, you will make an immediate and complete improvement in your attitude, or else get out of the way. Your personal spats with other commissioners, and your ugly exchanges with trolls, are counterproductive and emphatically unwelcome. Please check your ego at the door, and start acting like a public servant, or pass the baton to someone with a fresher attitude.

Thank you.

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I'm happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I'm done. Read Why I Love DC.

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